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Posted: 4/01/19

TAMIU Hosts 23rd Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference This Week

 

Dr. Stephen Meardon
Dr. Stephen Meardon  

Inter-American trade relations and the relationship between the United States, China, and México will be among topics discussed as academic researchers, business leaders, and policy makers convene at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) for the 23rd Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference April 3-5.

Full Conference registration for presenters is $300. Separate registration for each of the luncheon keynote addresses is also available for $25 each. To register for the Conference, email cswht@tamiu.edu, or call the TAMIU Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade at 956.326.2820.

The Conference is co-sponsored by the TAMIU A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business and the Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade (CSWHT), in partnership with México’s Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas Facultad de Comercio, Administración y Ciencias Sociales.

The Conference begins Wednesday, April 3 at 6 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom with the IBC Bank and Commerce Bank 2018-2019 Keynote Speaker Series presentation, “Hegemony and the Hemisphere: An Historical Perspective on Inter-American Trade Relations,” featuring Dr. Craig VanGrasstek, adjunct lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The presentation is free and open to the public. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. and translation services will be available.

Dr. Stephen Meardon, director of the TAMIU Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade and associate professor of Economics, said that while this year’s Western Hemispheric Trade Conference will address a wide variety of subjects relevant to researchers, it will spotlight two areas.

“One is the relationship between national power and foreign trade policy,” Dr. Meardon said, “In what respects is U.S. power enhanced, and in what respects could it be undermined, by a policy of retaliation and restraints on international trade?  Has U.S. power been enhanced of late vis-à-vis México and China?”

He continued, “Another subject of special concern this year is immigration policy.  At a moment of a sharp increase in actual and attempted immigration to the United States from deteriorating states in Central America, what do economists have to say about the likely effects?  Could migration from states with broken institutions have a negative effect on U.S. institutions, or are these concerns overblown?”

Concurrent academic sessions, and panel and BBVA presentations during the event are free and open to the public.

The panel presentation is titled, “The Economics of Immigration Restriction,” and features Dr. Annie L. Cot, professor of Economic Science, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; and Dr. Alexandre Padilla, associate professor of Economics and director of the Exploring Economic Freedom Project, Metropolitan State University of Denver. The presentation will be on Thursday, April 4 at 2 p.m. in Student Center 236.

The BBVA Compass Bank Chair presentation, titled, “Will a $15 Minimum Wage Hurt Employment?,” features Dr. George Clarke, BBVA Compass Group Distinguished Associate Professor of Economics at TAMIU. His presentation is Friday, April 5 at 10:20 a.m. in Student Center 236.

Among the luncheon keynote addresses is a presentation titled, “Contemporary U.S. Immigration: Is It a Good Deal for Americans?,” featuring Dr. Steven A. Camarota, director of research, Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. The presentation will be on Thursday, April 4 at 12 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

Also, on Friday, April 5, at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom, a luncheon keynote address, titled, “The New Triangular Relationship between the U.S., China, and México: New Challenges since 2019,” will feature Dr. Enrique Dussel Peters, professor and coordinator of the Center for México-China Studies, School of Economics, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Corporate sponsors for the Conference are: BBVA Compass; Commerce Bank; Cresta Advisors; Daniel B. Hastings, Inc.; Falcon Bank; International Bank of Commerce; Killam Development, Ltd.; Person, Whitworth, Borchers & Morales, L.L.P.; and Texas Community Bank.

For more information, contact Amy Palacios, associate director, Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade, at 956.326.2820 or amy@tamiu.edu or visit offices in Western Hemispheric Trade Center, room 221.

Additional information is available at facebook.com/tamiucswht